In the preparation of temporary or semipermanent hair coloring compositions, it has become customary to include ethanol as a cosolvent for the colorants contained in these compositions. Generally, water is used as the principal component of the vehicle for such formulas. However, when ethanol is employed for this purpose, it has been found necessary to use as much as 33% by weight of ethanol based on the total weight of the colorant composition. This has proven to have several distinct disadvantages such as the excessive cost that it adds to the products.